Hundreds stopped as new mobile phone driving laws come into force

The county’s police force backed a national campaign to highlight the new penalties for drivers caught using a handheld mobile phone while driving — six points on your licence and a £200 fine.

New drivers who have held their licence for less than two years also revert to provisional licence status under the new laws..

Between March 1 and March 7, officers from South Yorkshire Police’s Joint Specialist Operations (Uniformed) Unit stopped 293 vehicles, of which 52 drivers were suspected of committing a specific mobile phone related offence.

Eighty-eight penalties were handed to drivers and four were reported on summons to attend at court to be charged.

Around 50 people received verbal warnings and advice.

Sgt Lee Beck said: “This week of targeted activity was a real success and we saw a significant number of vehicles stopped where drivers were using their mobile phones.

“National campaigns like this exist to save lives — a split second’s distraction while driving can have fatal consequences. It is not worth the risk, so I’d stress to drivers please do not use your phones while driving.

“While the campaign has concluded, this does not mean our work to tackle this issue concludes as well. Our officers will continue to patrol the region and will take action to stop any driver suspected of or seen using their mobile phone while driving. Drivers can continue to expect higher penalties for using handheld devices.”